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Fire at Starlink site in Bulgaria after suspected sabotage in Poland

235 points • by ilamont • today at 6:37 PM • 165 comments • view on HN

Comments

nickff • today at 7:18 PM

>"Bulgarian Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev told parliament that additional security measures had been introduced at similar facilities, even though responsibility for their protection rested with their owners."

It seems absurd that the government is blaming SpaceX for not securing its property against trespass and vandalism/arson, especially when it seems likely that the violations are by foreign-state-sponsored actors. If this sort of issue is not the responsibility of local police and federal agencies, I am not sure what is. I understand that railways in some countries have their own police, but it is my understanding that SpaceX has not been granted such powers in any country.

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MisterMunchkin • today at 7:55 PM

I am getting a bit concerned that Russia is actually planning an attack on Eastern Europe.

It’s just like red storm rising, their refineries have been blown up and their diesel will only last 6 months. They need to move now or they’ll have to accept peace and economic prosperity.

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csirob • today at 9:47 PM

While the article deals with the topic that is not funny at all, I am amused by people having somewhat ironic names:

> Plamen Tonchev, head of Bulgaria's State Agency for National Security (DANS) said he believed the fire at the Starlink facility was an act of sabotage.

"Plamen" means "Flame", when translated from most Slavic languages (incl. bulgarian) to English.

senderista • today at 8:27 PM

There is definitely much more sympathy for Russia in Bulgaria than in Poland (I've noticed this esp. with older folks: "our Russian brothers").

postingawayonhn • today at 8:11 PM

Europe looks incredibly weak at present and the US incredibly corrupt.

jmasukr • today at 8:57 PM

F*ing russians

toomuchtodo • today at 6:56 PM

I find it somewhat interesting Russia is likely sabotaging these stations while Musk is limiting StarLink capabilities to Ukraine in fighting Russia. Very Spy vs Spy. Pick a lane!

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AmericanOP • today at 7:19 PM

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postsantum • today at 7:11 PM

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PorciiVorbesc • today at 7:18 PM

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culi • today at 7:36 PM

I didn't realize that in addition to the 11,127 satellites in our orbit it also takes over 1,500 ground antenna in the US alone to run this network? It seems likely that there is much more ground infrastructure than space infrastructure to make Starlink work

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pelagicAustral • today at 7:32 PM

Right after Starlink partially cut the pipe to Ukraine... Right at the time an Ukranian is facing a court of justice for the Nord Stream pipeline...

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